Parker McCann
Staff Writer
During this past week, winners for the ADDYs in the regional area were announced. There were eight students from Troy University who received awards: Nolan Odom, Tabitha Mixon, Saraya Williams, Mairead Sheffield, Kaitlyn Franklin, Elizabeth Jenkins and Heather Allerman .
The ADDY, established in 1993, is an award for graphic design presented by the American Advertising Federation for professionals ages 40 and under. While it is for professionals, many students enter as well and even win their own awards.
Nolan Odom, a senior graphic design major from Troy, who has participated in the two previous ADDYs, submitted three pieces and won a Silver ADDY, a Gold ADDY, the Best in Show award and Designer of the Year award. Previously, he won a Gold ADDY in 2012 and another Gold ADDY and Best in Show award in 2013.
Odom’s Gold ADDY was for his thesis project.
“I was given a mission to see through until the end, and it felt good. It was nice to make all the decisions and be the creator and the client,” Nolan said.
Odom’s piece was based on unemployment in Alabama. He wanted to do something with infographics, and it gave him a chance to see Alabama’s recent history and how other countries affect this state.
There were a total of 43 entries in the Montgomery division. Of those 43 entries, 12 participants won awards, and, of those 12, eight were from Troy University. Having two-thirds of the award winners come from Troy meant a great deal to Odom.
Odom personally tries not to let the awards affect him much.
“The hardest thing for me is to not be pious about it,” Odom said. “Winning awards looks good on a resume, but it doesn’t affect the work. If you let it make you pious, you’ll only make work as good as that.”
Tabitha Mixon, a senior graphic design major from Ashford, submitted one entry and won a Gold ADDY and Best in Show for Packaging Collateral. Her and Mairead Sheffield, a senior graphic design major, were the two students from the Dothan division who won awards.
Mixon was surprised to have won Best in Show with one entry in her first year.
Saraya Williams is receiving a Gold ADDY for her piece, which she is very confident in. Her project was to design a logo and make packaging for a product under ten dollars, which was light bulbs this time.
Williams, a senior fine arts major with a concentration in digital studio from Goshen, said that the entry process was simple for submitters. The art department sent out an email about the ADDYs and students could submit anything done this year to the intern of the department. They would then submit it to the American Advertising Federation.
